Feel the Heat

by Cheris Hodges

“You remember,” he said with a chuckle.

  “Hold on for a second, I’m going to step outside so that I can hear you.”

  It felt as if an hour passed before Mimi came back to the phone. “Brent, how have you been?”

  “You want the truth or some PC answer?” he asked.

  “Always the truth,” she said with a laugh.

  “I miss you, Mimi.”

  “It took you a month to realize that?”

  “So if we’re following that logic, then I guess the feeling wasn’t mutual.”

  He heard her sigh, then giggle. “I miss you, too.”

  “What are you doing tomorrow, then?”

  “Taking a tour of a haunted plantation.”

  “That does sound very adventurous. After hearing ghost stories, I’m sure you’re not going to want to sleep alone.”

  “And I’m supposed to wait for you to drive down and keep me safe from the things that go bump in the night?”

  “No. I’m going to fly.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes,” he said. “My flight leaves tomorrow after court.”

  “Are you serious?”

  “Very. We need to have a face-to-face conversation and my mouth is watering to taste you.”

  “Brent,” she whispered.

  “Mimi, this last month has been hell. And I’m not going through another thirty days like this. Hell, not another day.”

  “Has anything changed?” she asked.

  “We’ll talk about it when I get there. Can you pick me up from the airport or do I need to rent a car?”

  “I can make arrangements to come get you,” she said. “What time does your plane land?”

  “Six thirty, your time,” he said.

  “Then I guess I will see you tomorrow,” she said, and he could’ve sworn she sounded happy. Brent couldn’t wait to board the plane.

  * * *

  Mimi returned to the bar with a huge smile on her face. MJ, who had been approached by two handsome Creole men with drinks in their hands, nearly leaped from her stool. “What took you so long?”

  “That was Brent.”

  “Really?”

  Mimi nodded and grabbed her friend’s hand. “He’s coming here tomorrow.”

  “Well, looks like you two have finally come to your senses. So what’s going to happen now?”

  “First, I need to rent a car,” she said, then glanced at the two men at the bar. “Then we have to get rid of them.”

  “Oh, that’s easy. Come on,” MJ said as she walked in the direction of the bar. “Hey guys.”

  “Hello, beautiful ladies,” the taller man said. “I didn’t think you were going to come back.”

  “Well, my girlfriend and I made up. Sorry, I used you to make her jealous,” MJ said with a smile as she wrapped her arm around Mimi’s shoulder.

  Mimi played along, leaning her head against MJ’s shoulder. “We’re going to go now. Thank you for the drinks,” Mimi said with a wink. As they walked out of the bar, Mimi couldn’t help but laugh at the shocked looks on those men’s faces.

  “All right,” MJ said once they made it to the sidewalk. “So that you don’t have to go looking for a rental, how about you book me a flight back to Atlanta and keep my car?”

  “Really?”

  MJ nodded. “I’m sure Jamal will come get me when I land.”

  Mimi leaned back and looked at her friend. “What’s the real deal with you two?”

  “We’re good friends. I’m not setting myself up to get hurt again,” she said. “I know where Jamal stands and he knows where I stand.”

  “And where is that?”

  “Don’t worry about me. I got this. You and Brent need to get your stuff together. Lord knows that man has been miserable without you. And as much as you claim you wanted to be in New Orleans, I don’t see you bursting with happiness and joy.”

  “Oh, shut up. I just hope he doesn’t think I’ve changed. Did I miss him? Yes. But I’m still me and I’m not turning myself inside out because I’m in love.”

  “If it’s real, you two will find a way to make it work. And from what I’ve seen, this isn’t a one-sided thing like me and Nic.”

  “Have you heard from him lately?”

  “Well, he’s still my client, so I hear from him through my representative. He claims that he’s going to move his business if I don’t get back to working on his account.”

  “Emotional blackmail,” Mimi murmured.

  “I really don’t need his business. But I think it’s very interesting how he’s needing to hear from me now.” MJ rolled her eyes. “I’m guessing it has something to do with seeing Jamal and me out at Watershed on Peachtree.”

  “I thought you didn’t like that place?”

  “They have a new chef and it’s delicious now. Jamal likes peach cobbler and kissing after taking a huge bite,” she said with her eyes glimmering.

  “TMI! Let me guess, that’s what Nic walked in on?”

  She nodded. “But that’s not important. You need to get my ticket and get me to the airport so that you can pick Brent up tomorrow. He makes you happy and you deserve happiness for a change.”

  Mimi closed her eyes and imagined Brent walking down the corridor and into her arms. Would he have a beard now? Did he let his hair grow out? Had he lost weight? Gained more muscle?

  “Oh snap,” Mimi said. “We have to go, I need to find something to wear!”

  MJ shook her head as she and Mimi took off down the sidewalk.

  * * *

  Jamal yawned as he pulled up to Brent’s place. He wasn’t surprised to see his best friend standing in the parking lot like a kid excited about the first day of school. Lowering the window on the passenger side, he called out, “Anxious much?”

  “Shut up. You know I don’t like being late,” Brent said as he strode over to the car and opened the back door to toss his bag in.

  “I thought you had a later flight?”

  “Got an upgrade, and I’ve waited too long to see Mimi as it is.”

  “Glad you two came to your senses. Now MJ can stop hand-holding her and get back here.” The smile on Jamal’s face was telling and shocking to Brent. He’d never seen his friend talk about a woman this way.

  “So, this thing with MJ, it’s serious?”

  “We’re taking it one day at a time and it’s been some really good days,” he replied. “But it is too early to talk about this, especially when I haven’t had any coffee.”

  Brent slid in the passenger seat. “Hell has officially frozen over,” he said with a laugh.

  “You want to walk to Hartsfield-Jackson?” Jamal quipped. “You worry about yourself and Mimi. Let me and MJ do us.”

  Brent threw up his hands. “Just do me a favor. Don’t mess things up with MJ. The moment you two come into the bedroom with me and Mimi, I’m going to break your jaw.”

  Jamal sucked his teeth. “I can say the same thing to you. But, oops, you and Mimi have already joined us in bed because of this little standoff. What made you come to your senses?”

  “Denisha.”

  “Aww, hell. What in the...”

  “When Mimi left, I was pissed. So I made a bad decision and had dinner with Denisha. She looked better on paper than she did sitting across the table from me. Same stuff, different day. I knew then that I won’t be happy without Mimi.”

  “I’m still waiting to hear one thing,” Jamal said.

  “What?”

  “Jamal, you were right.”

  “Keep waiting,” Brent quipped.

  * * *

  Mimi woke up about 5:00 a.m. feeling as if it were Christmas morning. She glanced over at MJ, who was knocked out. Mimi reached for her tablet and did s
omething she’d promised herself she would do again—write about Brent. But this time she’d be smart about it and make it a story of two “other” people.

  Love is a fickle thing. Unexplainable and weird. That’s why so many of us are confused, upset and just plain through with love. That’s where girl was when she met guy. She was done with the games, with the need to impress, and wanted nothing more than to date and move on. She wasn’t into Netflix and chill, nor was she into commitment. Sounds weird to say a woman doesn’t want a commitment since the line on the sisters—especially the ones in the South—is that we’re all trying to get married after the second date.

  Guy, on the other hand, knew what he wanted and from what he said, it wasn’t her. He wanted the relationship, the big house out in the suburbs and kids. Commitment should’ve been his middle name. But guy had his own rules about how things should go in the confines of being with him. He’s not a man who likes to be around mistakes, and girl made a big one. Well, two if you count the fact that she fell in love with him and tried to pretend that it didn’t matter. Tried to pretend that moving about five hundred miles away from him would change her feelings, make her think of something else, like her career.

  Girl was offered dates and girl turned them down—even from the guy who looked like Lenny Kravitz. Girl really thinks it may have been Lenny, but she was so engulfed in thoughts of guy that she couldn’t see the forest for the trees. She’d been wondering if he’d thought about her, if he’d turned down dates, or was he living the life? Seriously, she hadn’t heard from him in almost a month and as the old saying goes, Out of sight, out of mind.

  And just when girl was ready to toss away her feelings and wrap her broken heart in Bubble Wrap, she got a call from guy saying the same thing she felt. And it didn’t feel like she’d won; it didn’t feel like she had control. It felt good. And that’s how a girl and guy should fall in love.

  Mimi published her post and smiled. She just hoped the real thing lived up to what she wrote. Glancing at the clock, she silently started the countdown until she’d see Brent.

  * * *

  “Flight 3209 to New Orleans has been delayed,” the voice over the public address system droned. “We apologize for the delay. Once the fog lifts, we will begin boarding. Thank you for your patience.”

  Patient was the one word that didn’t describe Brent at this moment. He stalked the waiting area outside the gate like a man possessed. He wanted to be on the plane on his way to his woman. His woman. A woman he almost let go for all the wrong reasons.

  Mimi had been worried about being his ideal woman, when Brent was the one who needed to wonder if he was ideal for her. He didn’t want to change her—he loved every part of Mimi. Every outspoken and quirky bit of her. Now it was time to prove it. As soon as this damn fog lifted.

  Pulling out his phone, he sent her a text telling her he’d planned to surprise her and arrive in New Orleans early, but Mother Nature had other ideas.

  Chapter 21

  Mimi smiled at the text she received from Brent. He was just as anxious as she was and she loved it.

  “MJ,” she called out. “Are you ready?”

  “Seriously? You’re rushing me?”

  “Yes,” Mimi replied. “Brent’s coming in on an earlier flight and there’s a bit of a weather issue in Atlanta.”

  MJ walked out of the bathroom dressed in a pink-and-yellow romper. “So you want to drop me off at the airport and have me sit there like I’m Tom Hanks?”

  “No, I want you to go on the tour with me, then I’m going to drop you off at the airport.”

  “That haunted tour? Not on your life!”

  “Come on, it’ll be fun,” Mimi said.

  “There is a reason why I don’t watch horror movies and that’s because being scared is not fun.”

  “Then think of it as a history lesson. Come on, when will you ever have this chance again?”

  “Fine, but if I end up having nightmares, I will be calling you in the middle of the night no matter what you’re doing or who you’re with.” MJ stroked her chin. “Are you coming back to Atlanta?”

  Mimi paused. In all of the excitement about her pending reunion with Brent, she hadn’t thought about what this meant for her assignment in New Orleans or her future. She wanted to be here. Wanted a change, and she thought this was it. How could she give up what she wanted because she loved him? Was he willing to give up anything for her?

  “I don’t know,” she said. “Let’s go.” Mimi slipped into her walking shoes, but her mind was no longer on the tour but on what her future was going to look like now.

  * * *

  Two hours later, Brent was seated in first class listening to a podcast of places to visit while in New Orleans. It had been a long time since he’d visited Louisiana and he couldn’t help but remember the last time he’d been there. Hounded by reporters after his parentage had been discovered following his graduation from law school. It wasn’t one of his favorite places, but he’d pretend it was as long as Mimi was there. He couldn’t help but wonder how much she wanted to be there. Had the trip to New Orleans been her escape plan or something that had been in the works for a while?

  “Sir,” a flight attendant asked. “May I get you a drink?”

  Brent shook his head and leaned his seat back; his attention was no longer on the podcast, but on Mimi and how they were going to make this work.

  * * *

  Mimi glanced at her watch as she and MJ followed their tour guide around the Laura Plantation. Had Brent left Atlanta yet? “And,” the tour guide said, causing Mimi to snap to attention, “though these are the slave quarters, something magical happened here about three years ago.”

  “What was that?” Mimi asked, thinking of how horrible conditions had to be for the slaves who had to call these small cabins home. What kind of magic could’ve happened here?

  “Two visitors were on the tour. And the woman stood right here and started trembling. There was a man here from Baton Rouge and he wrapped his arms around her. As it turned out, they were descendants of a group of slaves who were brought here and led a great escape as the plantation changed hands again. Those two visitors here that day were married about a year later. As it turns out, her great-great-great-grandmother and his great-great-great-grandfather were the leaders of the escape.”

  “Wow,” Mimi and MJ said in concert.

  “For some people, it’s all about ghosts and being scared when you hear haunted tour. But it’s more than that.”

  Mimi nodded. “That’s a wonderful story. Any idea how to get in contact with them?”

  The tour guide nodded. “I sure do. Are you going to write about them on your blog?”

  “Of course,” Mimi replied with a smile.

  “You’re getting sappy,” MJ whispered to her friend.

  “I could always write about you and Jamal to bring my edge back.”

  “I’ll sue you, and I’m not going to back down like Fast Love,” she gritted out.

  “Yeah, right,” Mimi said. The tour guide glanced at them, but kept silent.

  “Can we get a few pictures?” Mimi asked. “I can’t wait to write about this on my blog.”

  “That’s awesome, and while you’re getting your pictures, I’ll get the couple’s contact information for you,” the tour guide replied excitedly.

  “Thanks,” Mimi said as she pulled out her smartphone and began snapping pictures of the plantation. When her phone chimed, indicating that she had a text, Mimi nearly forgot about the pictures.

  I’m about to land.

  “We have to wrap this up,” Mimi told MJ. “Brent’s about to land.”

  “Good thing I’m packed,” she said with a smile. “I’m going to text Jamal and let him know what time to pick me up.”

  “Do you think I’
m expecting too much?” Mimi asked.

  “What are you expecting?”

  She sighed and watched the tour guide heading in her direction. “Magic.”

  * * *

  Brent wanted to kiss the ground as he walked off the plane. But he kept his composure. Mimi would be there soon enough, and since he only had a carry-on bag, he could bypass the baggage claim at the Louis Armstrong airport. Glancing at his watch, he hoped that he hadn’t caused too much of an uproar in her day. But honestly, he really didn’t care. His desire to see her trumped his need for fair play. The moment he stepped out to the corner where the travelers waited for taxis and their family, he spotted her. Dressed in a yellow sundress and red pumps, Mimi was a vision. His body hummed with want and desire.

  “Brent!” she exclaimed as she crossed over to him. He closed the space between them, pulling her into his arms and kissing her deep and slow.

  Neither of them cared about the stares passersby gave them as their kiss deepened and his hands roamed her back. Mimi pressed her hand against his chest. “Whoa,” she breathed as their lips parted. “I missed you, too.”

  “Mimi, I’m sorry and I missed you more than you’ll ever know.”

  She poked him in the side. “Then why did it take you a month to call?”

  Brent tilted his head to the side. “’Cause every time I started to pick up the phone I read your note again.”

  She dropped her head. “I was running. I should’ve stayed and explained what I’d written and...”

  “Next time, give me a better code name.”

  She smiled broadly. “Let’s get out of here,” she said as they headed to the car hand in hand. Once they were in the car, Mimi turned to Brent. “Are you hungry?”

  He gave her a slow-once over. “Starving. Where are you staying? Some swanky spot in the French Quarter?”

  “Actually, I’m staying in Algiers Point. It’s about twelve miles from here, but we can stop in the Quarter if you’d like.”

  “We don’t have to do that,” he said as she pulled out of the underpass. “I’m pretty sure what I want isn’t in the Quarter.”

  A heated blush turned her cheeks red. “Is that so?”